Memphis Botanic Garden to Build Entertainment Facility

The Memphis Botanic Garden plans on building an entertainment center for its popular Live at the Garden Summer Concert Series.

According to a permit filed with the Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement, the Botanic Garden plans on building a $2.2 million entertainment center for Live at the Garden.

The Live at the Garden series started in 2001 with a performance by the late Isaac Hayes, and quickly developed into one of the city’s most unique live music experiences.

– Amos Maki

Main to Main Connector Meeting Scheduled

Looking for the latest news on the ambitious Main Street to Main Street Multimodal Connector Project?

You can get an update on the project Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 4 p.m. in the fifth floor conference room at City Hall, 125 N. Main St.

The Main Street to Main Street Project coordinating committee will give an update on bid recommendations, bid status and bid schedule.

The $37 million project includes major infrastructure improvements to Main Street Downtown and a pedestrian and bicycle boardwalk across the Harahan Bridge.

– Amos Maki

County Trustee Lenoir Runs for Re-Election

Shelby County Trustee David Lenoir’s campaign website and Facebook page went up Thursday, Sept. 12, signaling his intent to seek a second four-year term in the 2014 county elections, starting with the May 6 Republican primaries.

Lenoir will formally kick off his campaign with a Sept. 26 fundraiser.

Lenoir was part of a slate of Republican contenders that took every countywide office on the 2010 county general election ballot.

– Bill Dries

Petties Appeals Prison Sentence

After being moved from the Memphis Federal Correctional Institution to a high-security prison in Allenwood, Pa., this week, Memphis drug kingpin Craig Petties has appealed his nine life prison sentences.

The appeals were filed Sept. 10 with the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by Petties’ attorney, Ross Sampson.

Petties was sentenced in August by U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays after pleading guilty in 2009 to numerous charges, including racketeering, drug trafficking, conspiracy and murder for hire.

Petties, through his attorneys, argued before his sentencing hearing in August that he should get a lesser sentence because he had cooperated with federal investigators. Prosecutors did not ask for a departure from sentencing guidelines, which included mandatory life sentences on several counts. They contended his cooperation came late in the case and didn’t add new information to what they had learned earlier from other members of his organization.

– Bill Dries

University of Memphis Starts Dorm Construction

The University of Memphis broke ground Wednesday on a new residence hall at the corner of Patterson Street and Norriswood Avenue.

The new building, which will face Central Avenue, will replace Richardson Towers and is expected to be completed for the fall 2015 semester. The university will continue to operate Richardson Towers until the new building is complete, then will remove it to create additional green space.

The $53 million, 780-bed building will feature double- and single-occupancy rooms on wings with shared private bathrooms.

The facility also will have 24 apartments, each with six single-occupant bedrooms. It will also include classrooms, study and project space, and room for student programs.

– Amos Maki

Memphis Companies to Present at Nashville Conference

Memphis-area companies Mobilizer and View Medical are presenting next month at the LifeSciTN Conference and Venture Forum in Nashville.

The event brings together industry experts, investors and innovators and is designed to create an atmosphere in which entrepreneurs can create partnerships and raise capital.

Top presenters will be offered start-up business services from LifeSciTN Venture Forum supporters.

– Andy Meek

Southeastern Asset Management Comments on News Corp. Buy

Earlier this week, news outlets ran reports of Memphis-based Southeastern Asset Management disclosing it had taken a nearly 12 percent stake in the entertainment and media conglomerate News Corp.

Many of those reports included mentions of Southeastern declining comment about the move, and some referenced Southeastern’s traditionally tight lips. But the firm’s latest semi-annual report notes that Southeastern “took advantage of the increased market volatility in June to buy News Corp.” The report suggests the impetus was the split of News Corp. that happened in June, whereby the company’s movie studio and cable TV business were split off from News Corp.’s legacy assets like its newspapers.

“As the company split out the U.S. Fox entertainment business, we had the opportunity to own the remaining strongly financed, premier media assets around the world at an attractive discount,” the report reads.

– Andy Meek

Obsidian to Brainstorm With Small Businesses

Obsidian Public Relations is playing host to seven small businesses for its first Memphis Idea Fest next month.

The firm is hosting the event at its office, 493 S. Main St., on Oct. 29. During Idea Fest’s one-hour lightning rounds, Obsidian’s entire Memphis staff will meet with each chosen organization’s management team for a brainstorming session to address a public relations issue currently facing each business.

Businesses must have fewer than 50 employees to qualify for participation. Other application requirements and event information can be found at www.obsidianpr.com, and applications for the free event are due by Oct. 10.

– Andy Meek

Women Regain Jobs Lost in Recession

U.S. women have recovered all the jobs they lost to the Great Recession. The same can’t be said for men, who remain 2.1 million jobs short.

The biggest factor is that men dominate construction and manufacturing – industries that have not recovered millions of jobs lost during the downturn. By contrast, women have made up a disproportionate share of workers in those that have been hiring – retail, education, health care, restaurants and hotels.

“It’s a segregated labor market, and men and women do work in different industries, and even in different areas within industries,” says Heidi Hartmann, an economist and president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

The gap was evident in the August unemployment rates: 6.8 percent for women, 7.7 percent for men.

In August, 68 million women said they were employed, passing the more than the 67.97 million who had jobs when the recession began in December 2007.